Bike to Work Week of Epic Proportions

Did you know that May is National Bike Month? If you work in the fitness industry you probably didn't. Well I'm here to tell you that May is National Bike Month. Now you know. In honor of National Bike Month, most major cities in the United States holds a Bike to Work Week and a even more well known Bike to Work Day. This year it was Friday, May 15 but the week started on Monday, May 11.

For months now I've been prepping myself for this week by riding my bike for long stretches and getting supplies for the ride such as helmet, bike shorts, tire repair kit and so on. Now remember, my commute is about 24 miles and I was about to do this on a bike so I wanted to be ready. On Tuesday, I took my first ride from work to home. It was a little dicey getting out of the city with tourist season being in full swing, then I got a little lost in Arlington but thanks to my phone I made it to the trail in about 40 minutes. From there on it was smooth sailing, well with the wind sailing in my face that is. It was a windy, uphill battle but I made it home in about 2 hours 40 minutes, with the actual cycling time around 2 hours 18 minutes (getting lost and stopping for traffic when the trail crossed at intersections slowed me down). After getting home, we went to the movies for half off tickets to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron which was much better (I thought) than the first.

Wednesday morning I got back on the bike to ride to work, it being Bike to Work Week and all. With the wind at my back and the road going mostly downhill, I got to work in just about 2 hours. I was tired after putting in 48 miles on my bike in less than 24 hours but I made it through the day.

Taking a break from biking on Thursday, we celebrated four years of marriage. It's hard to believe we've been married for four years but it's been wonderful. We celebrated at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Chuy's which is originally from Texas and honestly some of the best Mexican food I've ever had apart from the food on our honeymoon in Mexico (which is why we always eat Mexican food for our Anniversary). We exchanged gifts when we got home and I stuck to the traditional gift theme of fruit for the fourth year and I bought Scott a new Apple iPad. He was thrilled! and I was happy he liked it. Scott got me a 13.1 charm because I'm a weird runner crazy girl who enjoys running half marathons. It was a great day and a happy anniversary for both of us. We will be adding our succession of anniversary pictures shortly (click here to see last year's).

The traditional gift of fruits (mango scented candle) and flowers
My 13.1 necklace and tickets to see the NSO perform Frank Sinatra.

Finally, the day had arrived. I awoke with some anticipation on Friday morning and prepared for the long ride to work. It had been a rough week, learning the trails and being exhausted for my effort but I was committed. I had registered for Bike to Work Day back in March and there was a shirt at my Reston pit stop with my name on it (not literally but it was mine). I went and picked up my bright orange shirt and hit the trail along with several hundred other bikers, not all at once mind you but I saw them along the trail and got passed by many, I guess light road bikes and skinny tires make a huge difference. However this did not deter me. I had fun! and I learned a few things too like acknowledging other riders and users of the trail and phrases for crossing intersections. It's a fun community to be a part of. This ride only took about an hour and a half due to so many cyclists crossing intersections at once helping to slow down the car traffic and stoppage time. I finished the day by playing a soccer game that night for my adult women's league and amazingly enough, I wasn't tired!

Saturday was another epic day. For the past 16 months, my mom has been the creative director for the 2015 Northern Virginia Mormon Prom. If you've never heard of Mormon Prom you might not be from the East Coast. It's a big deal out here and a terrific alternative to regular prom for most Mormon kids. It's exclusively for Juniors and Seniors and non-Mormon kids are invited to attend as well. It's essentially a formal Stake Dance with 9 Stakes involved and a different Stake gets selected to host each year and this year it was my home Stake. Well after months of planning and preparing, the big day finally arrived. Almost every room in the Stake Center was decked out to reflect Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland and parts of this spilled outside as well.

Mushroom tables under black lights greeted the Juniors and Seniors

Without the black light

Mad Hatter Cafe, just off the kitchen for snacks

Chandelier made from plastic bottles and chicken wire!

It was incredible! There was a strict budget for prom so most of the material was either recycled, donated, found by dumpster diving or Craigslist freebies. My mom worked countless hours along with many volunteers to get this operational and it paid off. The kids were astounded at the magnitude of the event and didn't want to leave the dance when it was over.

Alice's shrinking room (Nursery)

The Jabberwocky above the Queen of Heart's throne in the Ball Room

Two Cheshire Cats used in different rooms

At the end of the dance, Scott and I helped in the clean up which started at 11pm and went until about 1:30 in the morning. To see more pictures and details about the dance, click on this link.

It was a fantastic week and a great Anniversary!